Last Week This Morning: Back at the AZ Legislature

Budget drop. Newly inaugurated Gov. Katie Hobbs announced her budget proposal on Friday. The plan prioritizes public education, affordable housing, and water resources. Meanwhile, Republicans have made it clear that they will oppose her priorities, despite what voters want. Read more about the budget proposal here.

Anti-LGBTQ+ bills dropped. Session just started, but already Arizona Republicans are pushing horrifying attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, despite a clear statewide rejection of their bigoted agenda. A slate of new bills attempts to criminalize drag performers, using definitions that could potentially criminalize a wider range of gender identity and expression. Another bill, SB1001, targets Arizona students from using their preferred pronouns in Arizona schools.

Ducey’s wall comes down. His political stunt cost Arizona taxpayers over $200M. The wall was placed illegally on some areas of federal land, caused environmental destruction and harm to wildlife, and was ineffective – videos on social media showed the containers toppling and the ease with which they could be scaled. The removal comes as a result of a federal lawsuit.

State of the State. Gov. Katie Hobbs made it clear in her first State of the State speech that she intends to prioritize funding for public education during her term. Watch the highlights here!